Kuroke (Ninken)
Kuroke is a male Ninken partner of Rouga Inuzuka and former member of Konoha before they defected due to their near arrest. Being a ninken Kuroke shows great physical prowess and excellent senses that outclass any human shinobi, except for those of the Inuzuka Clan and his partner. He is generally a voice of reason between the two and has hated the new life he now has as a thief and mercenary but continues to try and change Rouga's mind to return to Konoha to which she fiercely refuses to do so. Having been with Rouga since he was six months Kuroke often finds this frustrating but never leaves her side, especially due to the fact they are life long partners and have a powerful bond. In retrospect, they are really the only other family they have left. Background Becoming Partners Sometime during Rouga’s time in the Academy Kuroke was given to her as her ninken partner at about 6 months of age. The two quickly took a liking to each other and bonded fairly quickly, and what was more Kuroke was a quick learner and easily matched the level of his partner’s who had at the time been considered a prodigy among the Inuzuka. He always loved to play with his partner during her younger years and the two were often attending the Konoha ninja academy together. He was big enough to be carried around by Rouga at this time and usually didn’t mind. During these years however, the two were struck by a terrible tragedy when Rouga’s parents went to fight on the front lines for a mission. They were among the many casualties during a skirmish and didn't return, causing his partner to become an orphan and often living on their own. Though the clan took care of them Kuroke saw a drastic change in Rouga’s personality to one closely resembling a lone wolf and forcing others to keep away from her and him, but Kuroke was the only one Rouga didn’t mind. With being life-long partners eventually Kuroke would graduate alongside Rouga to become a genin. Difficult Times During his time with Rouga as genin these times proved rather difficult for Kuroke as they marked the beginning of his attempts to help his partner. Her changes in attitude and continuing to shrug off her teammates often concerned him. He began trying to help her grow in the team’s relationship but during their training she often proved to just be outright brutal with her genin teammates and jonin instructor. Sometimes even he got caught up in the moment and could be just as bad to which he’d regret later when seeing their teammates bruised and beaten and could often do little to change things. His attempts usually went unrewarded and for a while Kuroke was left wondering if things would change on missions. Sadly nothing improved. On missions Kuroke was often following his partner to do things on their own and thought they continued to have excellent coordination this left their team frustrated. In return his attempts began to become just as frustrating as Rouga didn’t often listen to him in the least when it came to talk of team work and needing to rely on them. She simply viewed them as weak and deemed unnecessary to complete a mission to eventually watching the events between Rouga and their Jonin instructor unfold. Kuroke even considered it a blessing that they were able to go to the Chunin exams after two years and it was mostly thanks to their skill that they even got to become Chunin. Stopping her path Things became somewhat easier when they worked together as Chunin, most often working alone however rather than in groups. Any times they did work on teams it was for scouting and tracking, something of which both were good at to begin with. During those times Kuroke was often the peace keeper when his partner got annoyed or bored and had to break up a few fights now and again. Majority of the time though they took up missions that allowed them the full use of their abilities and often them alone. Though, it wasn’t the change he was hoping for Kuroke could tolerate it enough it wouldn’t be a big deal and their training often went well. But that was when things began to change. When Rouga began to express her boredom and dislike of how society was this surprised Kuroke and he wasn’t quite sure what to think of it. He didn’t exactly have an issue with how things were run but this didn’t seem to matter as Rouga began to partake in stealing and thievery as a pass time and being brutal to their fellow shinobi or enemies on purpose. This became such a habit that eventually others in Konoha discovered they were some of the thieves among others that were a cause for issue and was quite a shock to some. But eventually Kuroke and Rouga got word the two were scheduled to be arrested and brought before the Hokage to face being reprimanded and ran away before any action could be taken. Becoming a Criminal Two years during their run from Konoha Kuroke took time to get use to this drastic change, hating the fact they left the one place they had called home for so long. Compared to Rouga he still missed Konoha but often couldn’t do much to convince Rouga to return. So during these past two years the two eventually took up to being thieves as a permanent part of their job and being mercenaries for hire, easily being a team to take out competition or help in a little turf skirmish. It has been a hard life for both but Kuroke is hoping someday he can change his partner’s mind to returning to Konoha in hopes the Hokage will have some leniency. Personality Kuroke is one of the handfuls of ninken that can speak, in this way being able to express his own feelings and personality is relatively easy. In contrast to his partner Kuroke is pretty calm and level headed, being the voice of reason between the two should Rouga ever get out of hand. What Rouga lacks in calmness and biting her tongue is where Kuroke is strong in as he knows when to say things and when not to, usually being the one to have to stop his partner from doing something irrational. Unfortunately he doesn’t always accomplish this or may agree to some point when Rouga says something but holds a much more respectful attitude towards authority or those who deserve it. He also seems a far more patient one of the two and usually doesn’t scold everyone if they aren’t that late but may give them a look of disapproval should they keep him and Rouga waiting. He’s also definitely a bit more compassionate and kind towards others than Rouga and usually more empathic of other’s feelings. Kuroke’s intuition of others doesn’t normally prove wrong and he can be far more trusting while Rouga still struggles with this part of her personality. Because of this Kuroke will normally try and help her with this but still to this day hasn’t had much luck improving the feelings of loss and anger for the losses she has faced since the last war. This is one thing that has frustrated Kuroke for their relationship and he is always trying a new way to try and get over this obstacle. But there are times Kuroke can be quite fierce and protective, especially those he and Rouga become loyal to and Rouga herself when she is in danger. He also, like anyone, has a certain limit to his patience and pushing those right buttons can make this usually kind wolf-dog become angered and lash out to make someone stop if he must. Though usually a snarl or glare is enough to get his point across. With his anger and annoyance though Kuroke shows a bit more violent tendencies and this can also show if he is battle alongside his partner or when he has to protect her. Appearance Kuroke is a ninken partner of Rouga Inuzuka who stands at 5’4 to the shoulder in height, being big enough to comfortably ride on for most people. Much of his appearance is the build of both a wolf and husky, thus him being a wolf-dog mix but mostly appearing like a wolf from the wild. He has a lean, slender build with a frame built for speed and agility and is fairly strong despite this. The only part of his body that closely resembles a husky is his slightly curled tailed. When it comes to his coloration Kuroke is a handsome chocolate brown just about all over his body. Brownish orange stripes run down his back and along the top part of his tail is the same color. Markings can also be seen around the nose like an arrow head pointing upwards, crescent moon-shape ones on the lower corner of the eyes, and sideways V-shape markings towards upper corners of the eyes and ones above that resemble eye brows. He also has a strip marking along the top part of his front legs and large splotch mark on top of his head. Last of all his eyes are unusual in the fact they are two different colors. Both have a crystalline look with the right being purple and the other a piercing icy blue like his partner. Abilities Inuzuka Clan Techniques Like other ninken of the Inuzuka Clan Kuroke can perform many collaborated attacks alongside his partner Rouga, many of which are canine-based. They both have been considered quite powerful among their clan at one point with Rouga already considered a prodigy and Kuroke matching her level. He can also use the Dynamic Marking Technique to help allow both follow a scent of their foe and attack when they are least expecting it. Kuroke can also be turned into a version of Rouga using the Human Beast Clone technique or combine with her in some of the more advanced Inuzuka techniques. Keen Senses As a wolf-dog and canine species to begin with Kuroke has hearing, smell, and taste greater than that of a normal human. His hearing is well enough he can hear things from little over three miles away and his smelling so acute he can following the faintest smell. His eye sight is also like that of a pure wild wolf, being able to see with great clarity to notice some of the smallest things and even able to see in the dark clearly for several feet. Physical Prowess Also as a Ninken Kuroke has reached an unusual size for even a wolf-dog, at least being double in their usual size to have Rouga ride comfortably on his back. In fact, he could likely carry two full grown men on his back with relative ease and move a medium sized boulder like it was a pebble. His body is also built for great speeds and agility, being able to keep up with the likes of a horse in full run. He’s also fast and quick enough to get in close to attack an enemy then dodge them to perform some hit-and-run tactics alongside Rouga. Trivia *Kuroke's name literally translate to "Dark Fur", following the pattern of Inuzuka Clan ninken being named after colors.